Tuesday morning, Angel took the public carriage to Zotland Street as usual and entered the Blackthorn Security Company.
After Old Neil's death, a depressive atmosphere permeated the entire Tingen squad. Even learning about the "acting method" couldn't dilute it. Angel and Klein hadn't searched for the "red chimney" building in several days.
Pushing open the reception hall door on the second floor, Angel immediately spotted Miss Rozanne sitting on the sofa in a black dress. Unusually, she wasn't brewing coffee or preparing hot water but had her gaze fixed motionlessly on a newspaper spread on the coffee table.
Hearing the door open and close, she turned her head, looking at Angel with a wooden expression.
"Good morning..." She suddenly froze. "Wait, is that really you, Angel? I almost didn't recognize you at first glance... Did you put on makeup today?"
Hmm, discovered after all...
Angel sighed inwardly, her hand moving to her cheek.
This morning while washing up, she'd discovered that yesterday's "Witch" potion, though not changing her gender, had comprehensively restructured her body.
Her limb lines became more graceful, her skin more delicate and fair. Even the scars from previous battle injuries had vanished without a trace.
Especially regarding appearance—if the original "Instigator" Angel still bore three or four points of resemblance to Kors Granger, enough that people wouldn't question their blood relation, the current "Witch" Angel had almost no traces of Kors's facial features, becoming more feminine.
And more beautiful, more alluring.
Fortunately, these changes hadn't altered her overall appearance. Rozanne could still recognize her colleague, only suspecting she'd deliberately applied makeup for "minor changes."
This is the confidence brought by the dual "Witch" potion portions...
Angel inwardly cursed the Assassin pathway's harmfulness but couldn't explain her appearance changes, so she simply nodded in admission:
"I just learned it from a newspaper and tried it myself."
If this were last week's Rozanne, she'd definitely ask which newspaper or request Angel teach her sometime. But this week's Rozanne only responded with "Mm" before turning back to the newspaper without another word.
Even after Angel left the reception hall, that newspaper remained unturned.
Passing through the corridor to the entertainment room where the Nighthawks killed time, Angel found a table of people already playing "Fight the Evil."
Klein held playing cards in one hand while toying with a penny in the other, the copper coin spinning on the table. Each time it was about to stop, the nimble "Clown's" fingers would flick the coin's edge, making it accelerate again.
Leonard across from him seemed to stare at his cards, but his thoughts had clearly drifted elsewhere. The final player, white-haired Silja Teon, was the only one still focused on the game, though it wasn't her turn—so this writer could only yawn boredly.
Hearing the door open, all three looked up. Seeing Angel, they withdrew their gazes, but moments later, all turned their heads back to her face.
"Did you... put on makeup today?"
Silja asked the question the two gentlemen found inconvenient to pose.
"From a newspaper..."
Forcing a smile, Angel used the same excuse to deflect.
Fortunately, the three distracted Nighthawks didn't pursue the matter. Only Klein's gaze lingered on her face before frowning in puzzlement, as if remembering something.
Pulling the latest newspaper from a nearby bookshelf, Angel was about to leave the dreary entertainment room for the sofa in the main hall when she saw Dunn pass through the corridor outside. A second later, he turned back and entered the room.
Today's captain wasn't wearing his trench coat and vest. His white shirt hung loosely, full of wrinkles, his light brown hair disheveled—though his eyes remained relatively bright.
"So you're all here," his gaze swept over the four people in the entertainment room before settling on Leonard. "Leonard, there's a situation near Tingen in Morse Town. Go handle it and try to return before nightfall."
"What happened, Captain?"
Before Leonard could respond, Klein—who'd been toying with the coin—pressed down the rolling penny and looked up to ask.
"In the past two days, several suspected haunting incidents occurred in the town. Residents heard strange crying and footsteps with no discernible source. One lady even claimed she saw her deceased husband. Nearly all the locals are followers of the Goddess, so the town church's priest reported directly to us."
Listening to Dunn's answer, Klein's eyes gradually brightened.
"Suspected haunting incidents? Could there be secrets involved, or extraordinary power—like the wraith we encountered in Lamud Town last time?" His gaze flicked sideways, seemingly casually glancing at Leonard. "Perhaps I could assist Leonard with divination or simple spirit channeling."
This clearly purposeful statement immediately drew Leonard's attention, his emerald eyes filled with puzzlement.
Dunn didn't overthink it. After brief consideration, he nodded in agreement. "Right, some situations might require ritual magic to purify wraiths. You and Leonard go to Morse together."
"Understood. We'll depart immediately."
Klein responded cheerfully, gathering the coins he'd won from the table into his pocket before standing and leaving the entertainment room—leaving the still-puzzled Leonard behind.
Before the poet could follow, Klein returned from the corridor, addressing Dunn with a serious expression:
"Captain, I believe the haunting incident in Morse Town remains unclear. If we must prepare for the worst-case scenario—say, a powerful wraith—Leonard and I alone might be..."
"What else do you need?"
Dunn directly interrupted his description, asking.
"I wish to apply for Sealed Artifact 3-0782, the 'Mutated Sun Holy Emblem.' It has powerful lethality against undead and ghosts, making it very suitable for this mission."
"But Level 3 sealed artifacts require three-person teams for application. You..." Dunn was about to refuse when his gaze shifted to the two remaining women in the entertainment room.
His coming and going didn't seem like suddenly remembering a sealed artifact—more like it was planned... Is his target that sealed artifact?
Angel analyzed silently, watching Klein's solemn expression as he faced the captain, though his right hand at his side tapped his thigh with his index finger—a gesture he made when nervous.
"I'll go with them, Captain. That way, three Nighthawks will be operating together, allowing sealed artifact use and preventing worst-case scenarios."
Seeing Silja Teon's eagerness, Angel volunteered, filling the final squad position.
"...Acceptable. You three form a team. Go quickly and return quickly. Leonard, come to my office for the application, then retrieve '3-0782' from behind the Chanis Gate. Remember..."
"No more than six hours. I know, Captain."
Leonard answered before Dunn could finish.
"...Correct."
Having his words preempted left Dunn momentarily speechless. He looked toward the final team member, Angel, frowning.
"You today..."
"Put on makeup. That's right, Captain."
Angel also adopted Leonard's tone to preempt his words.
Dunn's mouth opened and closed several times, his conflicted expression drawing a light laugh from nearby Silja.
The room's oppressive atmosphere finally lightened somewhat.